


When I fell for you

by failte



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failte/pseuds/failte
Summary: What happens when you fall for someone? Literally?
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	When I fell for you

**Author's Note:**

> Shit post story based off of [this TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@viralvids824/video/6804207265990692102?u_code=cmf70f92i11566&preview_pb=0&language=en&_d=cmf74gkh92dk9j&timestamp=1586743153&user_id=6545141418409689093&utm_campaign=client_share&app=musically&utm_medium=ios&user_id=6545141418409689093&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m)

David’s job had him bouncing around cities often enough. It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, really. It was taxing for him, having to pack up his life and move yet again after finally settling into another new apartment. He had a hard time making friends and it seemed like once he finally made a couple of solid people to hangout with, he was up and out again. He landed this time in Los Angeles, getting out of his car after the ridiculously long drive and it was enjoyable for a moment to feel the sun beating down on his skin. After a minute, he just felt sweaty.

This was the land of dreamers though and he thought that maybe that would be interesting. He worked on computers most of the time, fixing it when it went wrong and also fixing it when it wasn’t going wrong. It’s not like he’d meet the dreamers or ever join them. Not when he had a stable income and a decent life out of it.

He’d found an apartment online. Lower end but in Los Angeles, if you weren’t paying thousands of dollars a month then all you really could find was lower end. It was decent enough though for what he needed. Running water and a bed was all that was required.

He had been in Los Angeles for a month and life was mostly uneventful. Work was always the same, it never really changed but that didn’t bother him. David hadn’t really managed to find friends, feeling like maybe he was out of his league here. It was a bit stressful but he didn’t mind staying inside for a bit. He was still trying to get his apartment back to the way he liked it.

He sang to himself along with music while he built furniture, letting the music make time go faster.

Now, the apartment _was_ lower end but that didn’t mean it was bad by any means. It was fancier than most of the places he had lived in before. He figured that was just the way Los Angeles ran with things. It made David wonder what the two-thousand dollar apartment would have been like.

David was in his living room working on the entertainment system he had bought for his television. He had his music up and was singing his heart out when his upstairs neighbor started getting noisy. David glared up at the ceiling, the loud thumping killing his vibe quickly and it seemed almost like it was drowning out his music. It carried on for a while and it seemed like the person upstairs was never going to end whatever they were doing. They did end though. Very suddenly with a loud crash.

Time slowed down for a moment as David watched. His apartment seemed normal for a split second and then he saw his ceiling cave in, plaster and insulation crashing down into the middle of his kitchen, quickly followed by a screaming person. David watched as the man crashed through and landed loudly with a thump on his floor. He groaned and David stood slowly, approaching his kitchen. He paused to look up into the apartment above, the hole was huge.

“You good, man?” David asked, peeking around the corner of his counter to find a man he’d passed quite a few times in the hallway. The guy was always talkative, it intimidated David even though he had wanted to befriend the guy.

“Good? Yeah, good, totally. No, of course not. I just feel through the fucking floor!” He said, his voice strained from pain. David winced a little as he realized how dumb his question was. He helped the man up, draping his arm across his own shoulder and helped him to David’s couch. The man was limping slightly, falling back onto the couch and sighing.

“Do you got ice or somethin’?” He asked and David shook his head, trying to think of something.

“I’ve got corn, I think,” he said and the man waved him off, David taking that as a ‘please get it for me’.

He retrieved the small bag of frozen corn and handed it to the guy, crouching down next to him, completely at a loss of how to help someone who fell through their floor and landed in his home.

“My names David, I’m new here,” he started and the guy looked at him, a little shocked.

“Some stranger falls through your ceiling and you first instinct is to make friends?” He asked and David looked down, thinking for a moment before nodding.

“Sure, what else am I supposed to do? Panic? Cry? Neither of those are going to help me in this moment.

“Alright, I’ll give ya that one. The names Jack.”

Jack sat quietly on the couch, exchanging the cold ice to various parts of his body that hurt from the fall while David called the landlord. He explained what happened and how random it was, politely leaving out the ruckus that he heard before it happened. David assumed that the stomping or whatever Jack had been doing only made the collapse happen faster, not necessarily the cause.

_“Someone will be up shortly to check it out,”_ they said and David thanked them.

He sat back down on the couch, looking at Jack.

“Want my peas?” He asked, trying to be polite but Jack shook his head.

“Corn will work for now,” he said and David nodded.

“What were you even doing? You were being so loud,” he said and Jack looked as if he might have blushed.

“Don’t judge me,” he said quietly, looking over to David who held his hands up in defense, “Okay. I’m auditioning for some small town company play. They’re doing Mary Poppins and well, New York City is my dream, Broadway and all. This is just a start hopefully,” he explained and David stared at him. He knew dreamers existed but he didn’t expect to have met one so soon.

  
“So you were, what, dancing?” He asked and Jack smiled.

“Yeah! I’m hoping for like a chimney sweep, ya know? That would be epic. So I was practicing from the movie with my broom and stuff. Also might have been practicing doing a flip,” he said and David nodded, eyes going a little wide.

“Oh, holy shit. That’s cool, you can do a flip?” He asked and this time Jack did go a little red. He was wearing shorts, dusty from the fall still. He pulled them up to reveal his knees. They were bruised with a mix of fresh and older cuts and scrapes.

“Not yet but close. If I could do a flip then I wouldn’t have busted through the ceiling.” David laughed a bit and nodded.

The worker came through and checked out the ceiling, bringing a cleaning crew by a little while later to clean up the debris.

When it was the two of them alone, David felt awkward sitting on the couch with a virtual stranger.

“Do you mind if I go back to building my stuff?” He asked, gesturing over to the wood and nails and tools all over the floor. It seemed like it was the first time that Jack had really stopped to look around the apartment besides the obvious gaping hole in the ceiling.

“Oh, sure. Don’t let me stop ya,” he said and David nodded.

He turned his music back on, damned to let some stranger stop him from enjoying some tunes. He got back into what he was doing, focusing on his work and singing along to the music. David completely forgot that someone else was in his apartment for a couple of minutes. He looked back up to Jack, the corn resting on his lap and his head tipped back to rest on the couch. His eyes were closed and there was a slight smile on his face. It took a minute for Jack to realize David had stopped singing.

“You stopped,” he said, cracking open an eye to find David watching him. There was a quiet, uncomfortable moment as David tried to think of how to respond.

“I didn’t realize I was singing,” he confessed and Jack closed his eye again and smiled.

“I know. You’ve got a nice voice, keep going,” he said and it was David’s turn to blush. He shook his head, looking away and screwing a piece together to distract himself.

“No, I don’t sing in front of people,” he said and Jack sighed, letting it go.

They were both moved to hotel rooms up the road while repairs were going on in their apartments. It seemed, though, David had somehow made a friend. When he wasn’t working, Jack stopped by his room, asking for opinions on his dancing and his singing, for help with the script he’d been given for his audition. By the end of their first week in the hotel, David felt like he knew the script just as well as Jack did.

“You should audition,” Jack said off-hand one time, laying down on David’s bed after spending the last couple of hours rehearsing until he was exhausted. David chuckled at the idea.

“I’m not a dreamer,” he said softly, dropping the script to the floor.

“And what? I am?” Jack retorted and David turned to sit criss-cross, looking down at Jack.

“Sure, you’re chasing a dream. You said you wanted to be on Broadway. You’re talented, of course, but that’s some big dreams.” It seemed to sour Jack’s mood.

“I didn’t expect that from you,” was all Jack said, letting the words hang in the air. He got up and left after the silence carried on for a few moments.

Two days passed and David felt like he was missing something when Jack never knocked on his door. He didn’t know why he missed it so quickly when he’d known the man for a short time. He had spent the bored hours of nothing to do after work thinking about why Jack had seemed so upset by David’s words. He wanted to know what was expected after someone he’d known for a week. David’s excuse was that he was a realist. Broadway wasn’t attainable, that lifestyle didn’t seem plausible in his mind. His parents expected a standard 9-5 job where he worked and went home, where dreams didn’t really exist.

He felt guilty, walking to Jack’s room and knocking softly. It looked like Jack had just woken up when he opened the door.

  
“Hi,” he said, opening the door wider for David to walk inside.

“I wanted to apologize,” he said, a relieved sigh leaving his mouth when Jack smiled.

“Thanks,” Jack said, sitting on his bed and patting the spot next to himself.

“I shouldn’t shit on your dreams, regardless of how big they are. I meant it when I said you’re talented. I love listening to you sing,” he said and Jack leaned over to bump shoulders with him.

“I appreciate it. I was just upset. My family back home was a little mad that I moved out here to try and get into film or something. They think I’m stupid for it,” he explained and it made a little more sense why Jack didn’t appreciate hearing he was a dreamer. David nodded his understanding, bumping back into Jack with a small smile.

“Wanna practice?” He asked finally and Jack shook his head, jumping to his feet.

“No, but look at this!” He said, swinging his arms and doing a backflip. He landed on his feet, a little wobbly but he landed nonetheless. David clapped and Jack took an exaggerated bow.

They went back to their apartments when construction was finished. Jack made it a habit even then to come over each night. The practice died down and it turned into hanging out. They sat side by side on the couch, filtering through the movies they owned and then moving on to bad cable shows.

Auditions were that week and Jack was nervous, not being able to shut up about it at all. It was the night before he went in and he laid on the couch, his head on David’s lap. It was comfortable for them, for whatever reason, David’s hand running through Jack’s hair without a second thought.

“Come with me,” Jack said, closing eyes as he relaxed.

“Sure, I’ll cheer you on,” David said easily, wanting to be supportive and helpful. He knew Jack wanted this.

“No, well, yes. That would be nice but I meant come audition with me,” he said and David rolled his eyes.

“Come on,” he mumbled and Jack sat up, turning to face him.

“I’m serious. You’re a great singer and you know the script as well as I do now. You could do it easily,” he explained and David looked over to the clock.

“I should sleep,” he said, making himself yawn to hint at being tired even though he wasn’t at all.

“But it’s Friday! You don’t have work tomorrow. It’s perfect,” Jack said, pouting as he was politely ushered to the door.

“Knock on my door when you want to go. I’ll come support you,” he said and Jack gave up on trying to get David to audition.

David laid in bed staring at the ceiling for a long time that night. The last couple of weeks, his bed was starting to feel lonely. Jack was in his apartment so often now it seemed but he always left to go back to his own before it got too late. David was always tempted to ask him to stay, to keep him company but he didn’t know where they stood on that, what Jack wanted. David knew that he was developing feelings. Even if Jack was his complete opposite, something about his energy drew David in more and more and he wanted to tell Jack. He couldn’t, not with the stress of this audition and his dreams.

The morning came and Jack knocked as he’d been told, smiling as David followed him out the door and to Jack’s car. David could tell there was a small bit of disappointment in his mind though.

“Why did you want me to audition?” David asked finally and Jack opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.

“I thought it was something we could do together,” he said finally, chewing the inside of his cheek, “As friends,” he added on after a few moments. David didn’t know how to take it, looking out the window to try and hide whatever emotion might have showed on his face. He wasn’t even sure how he felt or what it meant.

“Yeah, sorry,” David said.

The words rang through his head the entire drive. He was confused on the hesitation and it made him believe there was something left unsaid in the words but he didn’t know how to ask. Especially when Jack seemed like he couldn’t keep himself still from the anxiety of the audition.

They called Jack back and left David sitting in a room full of other dreamers, all had their noses stuck in the scripts, muttering to themselves for that final practice. The lady who had been taking down the information of everyone auditioning motioned David over.

“Sir, you never signed in,” she said and David was about to tell her that he was only there to support his friend but paused, Jack’s words ringing in his head again. He was almost positive that something was left unsaid. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him because he wanted there to be something more. He looked towards the door where Jack had disappeared to and contemplated for a moment.

“My bad,” he said, turning his attention back to the lady, “David Jacobs,” he said and she wrote down his information and handed him a number.

He stared at it as he sat back in his spot, not sure what to expect from this. Jack had come prepared with photos of himself and a paper of experience. David had been dumb enough to ask if it was a work resume and Jack laughed.

His number was called before Jack returned and he felt nervous. Not for the audition but for Jack, hoping it didn’t seem like he had up and ditched the man.

“Headshot and resume?” A person in the room asked that David had been escorted to. He stared at them before clearing his throat.

“To be honest, I didn’t know I needed that stuff. This is my first audition,” he explained and the people at the desk all shared a look.

“Do you know the script?” They asked and David nodded, smiling.

“I do, actually,” he said and they looked a little surprised.

“Well, we’ll just go through the audition script. We’ll read and then you answer and after that I will decide if we want to continue with the audition. Seeing as how you didn’t bring what’s required of you, I consider this to be fair, if not a little too lenient,” the man said and David swallowed.

To the people’s surprise, David spoke the lines with ease. Helping Jack had given him plenty of time to memorize and perfect how he said each line.

After, a woman took his photo a couple of different ways and they asked some questions. He was asked to sing and he felt panic come through him for a second but he heard Jack reminding him constantly that he should keep singing when David would realize he was singing out loud, that his voice was good. He picked the first song that came to head, doing his best to remember the melody and sing it on the right notes. Part way through the song, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and he knew without checking that it was a worried Jack.

The audition didn’t take much longer and he was escorted back to the waiting room. He saw Jack standing by the window, phone in hand as he was frantically texting someone. A second later, David’s phone vibrated. David didn’t bother to check it, calling Jack’s name and almost laughing at his expression as Jack whipped around.

“I thought you left!” Jack said, running up and hugging him tight. David returned it, holding Jack close. For a moment it didn’t feel like two friends hugging but Jack pulled away. While the moment that David wanted to hold onto had ended, Jack’s smile made it worth it.

“Sorry, I should have texted you but well, I decided to just audition. I know you were really excited and you’re right, it might be fun,” he said and in a split second, he felt hands on his cheeks and lips on his.

David felt his heart pick up, freezing for just a second before he responded, leaning into Jack only to have the very brief kiss end.

“I’m so sorry,” Jack said quickly, his ears going red from embarrassment. David felt breathless, unable to respond for a second, only snapping out of it when he saw how worried Jack had gotten.

“Completely okay, I’ve been wanting to do that but I didn’t know how to tell you,” he said and Jack smiled, wrapping an arm around David’s shoulders, pulling him towards the exit.

In the end, they both made it into the play. Jack got the role of Bert, the one he had wanted from the start and David got cast as Mr. Banks. He didn’t know much about the character but his new boyfriend, Jack, had offered to help him with his role.

David was almost thankful for a broken, lower end apartment.


End file.
